o produce 1 pound of honey, 2 million flowers
have to be visited. A single hive has to fly 55,000 miles to produce a
single pound of honey. One bee colony can produce 60 to 100 pounds of honey
per year. An average worker bee makes only about 1/12 teaspoon of honey in
its lifetime.

In 2016, Chilliwack city council agreed to
take a look at regulating apiculture as a backyard hobby.

At
the last Chilliwack city hall meeting February 5, councillor Chris Kloot,
who also chairs the Agricultural Rural Advisory Committee (ARAC), noted that
on January 29 he attended the ARAC meeting, which also had some new members,
and together they put the stamp on the beekeeping bylaw draught.

Next, the motion will go to councillors to
scrutinize and vote on.

"It's good news for the community and a long
time coming, but the Urban Beekeeping Bylaw has been draughted and it will
be coming forward very shortly with support from the committee," said Kloot.
"So for the beekeepers, and those interested in the urban bees, this is the
moment you've been waiting for so I'm looking forward for the review to come
forward."

In May 2014, Minister of Agriculture Norm Letnick announced that May 29,
will be declared the Day of the Honey Bee in B.C. to recognize and
celebrate how beekeeping in B.C. that has grown from May 1858 when two hives
arrived in Victoria Harbour into an industry that has a $250-million-a-year
agricultural impact today.

A
young beekeeper from Saskatchewan started the Day of the Honey Bee
campaign in 2009 to raise awareness about honey bees, and since then, three
levels of government across the country have adopted versions of the Day
of the Honey Bee proclamation.

"Awareness has certainly increased,” said BC
Honey Producers Association second vice-president Kerry Clark. “The Day of
the Honey Bee is both a useful exercise in increasing everyone's
appreciation of honey bees and their current plight, but also a great
example of what one committed person can accomplish with a thoughtful
response to a problem they think should be addressed."

So the next time you dip your knife into the honey container for your
morning toast, think about how many bees it took and how far they had to fly
to make enough for one slice of bread.

Local bee woman, Laura Delisle, said that bylaws need to be in place to meet
regular beekeeping standards for all. She did not respond to The Voice
e-mails for comment.